


Gold Rush

by f0rever15elf



Category: Prospect (2018)
Genre: F/M, Food mention, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Pedro Pascal - Freeform, Swearing, blood mention, medical injection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27076213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f0rever15elf/pseuds/f0rever15elf
Summary: It’s been a long time since the precious mineral rush hit the Rockies of Colorado. So when national news breaks of a potential gold vein left untouched in your quiet little town, no one is prepared for the rush that follows. And you certainly weren’t prepared for the man you meet.
Relationships: Ezra (Prospect 2018)/Reader, Ezra (Prospect 2018)/You
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. Gold Rush

You would never forget the day you first laid eyes on him. He looked a mess, dirt and soot clinging to his sweaty face. Mud clung to his coveralls, and his hair stood up in all directions having just taken his safety helmet off, a little blonde patch catching your eye. He looked positively exhausted as he lounged on a boulder set off a little bit from the rest of the commotion. The grueling heat from the mid-day summer sun did little to help the heat you felt rush to your cheeks when his warm brown eyes locked on yours. You averted your gaze quickly, scurrying off to finish your work in preparing the food for the new prospectors.

Your little mountain town tucked up in a secluded region of the Colorado Rockies had always been exceptionally quiet. That is, until a kid happened to stumble upon the start of what looked to be a gold deposit. It wasn’t unheard of, the mountains were rich with all kinds of valuable minerals. Hell, some of the towns got their names from the gold and silver deposits that brought them to life. Finding something here though, in your quiet and reclusive neck of the woods, was something your town was drastically unprepared for.

News broke nationally and within a week the town was flooded with prospectors and independent contractors all vying for their piece of the pie. The economic boost for the town was good, but the available resources were minimal, and the town felt the burden. There wasn’t enough room in the one bed and breakfast the town had to house them all, making little tent camps near the edge of town a very common sight.

Naturally, the close knit community rose to the occasion, coming together to make community meals for the visitors. Communal lunches were the most anticipated time for the workers, and they would flock to the picnic tables to fill their bellies as soon as the lunch bell rang. Most were nice and talkative, thanking the town for doing this for them, and promising to go visit the shops when they finished for the day. Some kept to themselves, staying quiet. Others would talk your ear off, but you had to approach them first. It was a strange new normal, but one that was easy to fall into routine with.

It’s been a little over a month now, and prospecting is in full swing. The little bit of gold the boy had found was just the beginning of one of the richest gold deposits this region of the Rockies had ever seen. More and more miners made their way to your town every day, and your new full time job became helping with the meals; making food runs down into the nearest large supermarket or tending to the vats of food that seemed to always be simmering away. But even when you were distracted with all of this hubbub, it seemed impossible to forget the man with the small blonde patch.

Today is a grey day. The clouds thick in the sky promise heavy rains. Yet still the lunch bell rings, calling the prospectors from their mine shafts and tents to come and join the community for food. The man with the blonde patch sits closer today, his usual boulder taken over by two of the newer prospectors whose names you had yet to learn. As you work, you feel his eyes following you, watching you like a hawk as you do your best to ignore it. Quite a few of the prospectors spent time ogling you, but this man’s gaze consistently feels different. Arms full of things to take back to your house to clean, you begin making the trek up the incline that leads to your house when lightning cracks the sky. The resounding rumble of thunder through the canyon scares you out of your wits, and the dishes go crashing to the ground as you lose your footing, stumbling backwards. You close your eyes, preparing yourself to hit the ground, knowing you’d be tumbling for a bit before you could regain yourself, but the ground never meets you.

“Careful there, sunshine.” The voice is honey thick, a deep Tennessee drawl that borders on music as it drips from the lips of the man who catches you. Opening one eye, you look up to see the man with the blonde patch holding on to you, having been the one to keep your from falling down the hill. You open your other eye as well, looking up at him for far longer than you are sure was proper before your cheeks grow hot and you scramble to get your footing again.

“I’m so sorry! The thunder frightened me, I didn’t mean to..I just…I – Thank you.” You blabber as you crouch down to start gathering the dropped and scattered dishes, cramming everything back in the chili pot.

“Not a worry, sunshine. Would have been a mighty rough fall there.” He crouches down to help you gather the dishes, only pausing to look to the sky when the first few drops land on his face. You look up with him and sigh.

“It’s going to be a hell of a storm.” His beautiful eyes turn back to you at your comment, an eyebrow raised. “The season is changing,” you grunt, getting to your feet. “Best to make sure your tent is secure, sir. Else this rain and the wind that will come with it will blow it half way down the canyon.”

“I appreciate the advice, but I do not believe that to be something I need concern myself with presently.” The way he spoke, words pouring from his mouth with such sweetness, was unlike anything you had ever heard. “I haven’t a tent to my name, you see. Just the clothes on my back and tools on my hip.”

“You didn’t bring a…?” Your voice tapers off in concern and confusion as the drops fall more rapidly, the rest of the prospectors dispersing to tend to their own things. “Come inside with me. You stay out in a storm like this you’ll get sick. Come on.” Turning, you begin your trudge uphill again, eyes on the sky as you wait for it to bottom out. The strange prospector follows you in silence, his tools clanking on his belt with every step.

And then it happens.

The sky opens up, the deluge drenching you both and you let out a small scream, sprinting down the street to the safety of your porch, the man hot on your heels. “C-Colorado rain is always so damn cold,” you chatter through clenched teeth, opening your front door and kicking off your soaked shoes. You’re half way to the kitchen when you realize the man hadn’t come in after you. Looking back over your shoulder, you see him standing just outside the doorway, the spitting image of a drenched kitten, conflict clear on his face. “Don’t just stand there, come inside where it’s warm.”

“It would be rather impudent of me to make a mess of your home in such a way.” You wave your hand at his comment, setting the dishes on the counter before returning to him.

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t alright with it. Come on, you’re letting the cold in.” When he still doesn’t move, you roll your eyes and grab his hand, tugging him inside before shutting the door behind you. “You can use my shower to get cleaned up. Go on.” You all but push him down the hall, him protesting in far more words than necessary as you do. “There’s towels in the wicker basket. Use whatever you need.” You turn to leave, stopped only by his hand catching your wrist in his gentle grip.

“Thank you, sunshine.” You look up at him, struck by the sincerity on his face, in his eyes. “I am beholden to your unbridled grace and kindness.” You flash him a shy smile and nod as he drops his hand from your wrist.

“I’ll get you something dry to change in to once you’re done getting cleaned up.” Your voice is soft as you turn, letting him to his business as you go to find him some clothes. It is at this time that you’re beyond grateful that your brothers were so damn forgetful, having left several articles of clothing at your place every time they visit. Humming a low tune, you rummage through their chest of forgotten clothes, pulling out a v-neck you’re pretty sure will fit him along with a pair of gray sweatpants that might be just a touch too short. They were better than nothing, at least. You quickly fold the clothes, setting them in the hallway outside the bathroom door before knocking.

“Sir, there are warm and dry clothes for you in the hall way. I’ll wash your wet ones when you’re out.” Over the sound of the running water, you catch a muffled, loquacious reply. You have only been speaking to him for a few minutes, but he’s already proven to have a more robust vocabulary than most anyone you’d met. Chuckling, you make your way back to the kitchen to get the dishes cleaned up, resuming your humming.

A bit later, you’re interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing. You look over your shoulder to see the prospector there, leaning against the doorway into the kitchen. Relief washes over you when you see the clothes did fit, making a mental note to not tell your brothers that you were giving away their clothes. “Enjoy your shower?”

“The breadth of generosity you’ve show this old man of ill repute is without measure,” sugar sweet words drip from his lips again, bringing a heat to your cheeks.

“Oh please, it’s nothing, really.” You gesture outside to the torrential downpour. “If you have no shelter in this type of weather, it has the potential to bring a rapid end to your prospecting career. The nights are too cold up this high to go to sleep drenched to the bone.” Your eyes rake over his figure, settling on his hair again, sticking out in all sorts of directions after having towel dried it. A smile pulls at your lips before you look back at his face.

“Well, all the same sunshine, I seem to find myself indebted to your good graces.” The corner of his mouth tugs up in a lopsided smirk that makes your heart stutter.

“Well if that’s the case, help me dry the dishes and I’ll call us square.” You grin and toss a towel to him as he joins you at your side. “By the way, I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“How discourteous of me! I go by Ezra. Just Ezra. Pray tell what name such an absolute vision of beauty such as yourself goes by?” You can’t help the giggle that bubbles from your lips as a heat rushes to your cheeks. You give him your name, a nervous air in your voice. He nods, repeating your name back to you and you can’t help the shiver that runs down your spine as your name sounds like liquid gold on his lips. You wouldn’t mind hearing him say it again and again, you think.

“I like that name. Ezra. I think it suits you.” You flash a smile as you hand him a pot to dry. “Tell me though. How have you been here since the rush began, yet still you don’t have so much as a tent to cover your head?” His laugh is deep and rich as he takes the next dish, drying it thoroughly.

“I find it more prudent to be frugal with one’s earnings in such a tumultuous line of business as freelance prospecting. Nature tends to provide what my mortal body needs as far as shelter, so the earnings I amass in mining go towards improving my station.” You nod, turning off the water as you hand him the last plate.

“And you’ve been living this way for how long?”

“By my approximation, I’d say I’m just about at the ten year mark.”

“I can’t imagine the lifestyle is easy…”

“There is an ache that lingers in my bones, no doubt, but the drive to press ever on towards greatness…well, that is what distinguishes those who simply chase a dream of getting rich quick from those of us who yearn for something beyond that which words can describe.” He turns, leaning against the counter to cross his arms, eyes staring off into space. You’re quiet for a moment as you watch him, taking note of the creases on his weathered face. Laugh lines linger along the corners of his lips, and smile lines accent the corners of his eyes. He is beautiful in every sense of the word.

“And when you reach the end of the vein here? Where will you go to next?” His eyes refocus on you and he smiles, pondering the question for a moment.

“I suppose that entirely depends up the riches chanced upon during my toils in your hospitable hamlet.” The way he says riches as his eyes watch you strikes a chord within you, and you have a feeling that it isn’t just the gold he is speaking of. Something about this man bewitched you, and you find yourself struggling to break eye contact with him. His smile is warm and welcoming, but there is something there just below the surface that hints of danger. And it thrills you. Another crack of lightning and rumble of thunder startles you from your trance and you push away from the counter with a nervous chuckle.

“Well, I do hope you’re able to find what you’re looking for here, Mr. Ezra. Please make yourself at home, I’m going to go set your clothes into the wash for you.” You turn and all but sprint down the hallway to the bathroom, Ezra chuckling in the kitchen behind you.

As you start his laundry, you take a moment to compose yourself. Your heart is racing and your hands trembled in a nervous excitement as they braced against the washer. The air around Ezra is different, you think. Something about the man sets him apart from those you had had the chance to speak to so far, and you are determined to figure it out. After calming yourself to a reasonable level once again, you make your way out to join Ezra in the living room. He’s found your meager book collection, helping himself to one of your novels, and the sight of him perched on your sofa with it balanced on his knee looks like the most natural thing in the world.

“Avid reader?” you question, sitting down on the other side of the couch, tucking your feet up underneath you.

“I have been known to indulge when such an opportunity affords itself to me.” He flashes you that lopsided smile that you just can’t help but return before re-affixing his eyes to the text in front of him. You watch him for a time, trying to learn as much about him as you can from his posture, his looks, until your eyes drift to the window behind your couch. The rain blurs the windowpanes, turning the landscape into some abstract watercolor painting and all that can be heard is the sound of the rain accented with the occasional turn of the page as Ezra reads. Relaxing into the couch, your eyes slowly slip shut as you drift off into a peaceful sleep.

When you finally come around, the sun has set and the rains have stopped. The house is quiet save for a gentle fire in the fireplace, one you hadn’t set before falling asleep. A blanket has been delicately draped over you and you smile to yourself. You sit up and rub the sleep from your eyes, searching for the friendly prospector. “Ezra?” Your voice is heavy, still thick with sleep as you stand to look for him. You find him outside on your porch, leaning against the siding as he looks out over the canyon visible from your home. “Ezra? Is everything alright?” He simply nods, not looking over to you. The full moon illuminates his skin in the most radiant of ways, accentuating every curve and plane of his face, brightening that little blonde patch in his hair. It left you near breathless. A shiver runs through you at the crisp mountain air, left cooler after the rains, and you wrap your arms around yourself to cope. Ezra shifts his attention to you.

“You should be inside, sunshine. The cold will do you no favors.” He pushes off of the wall, turning to usher you back inside. You hear it though, the slight sadness in his voice that wasn’t present earlier today. You allow him to lead you back inside, shutting and locking the door behind him before you turn to face him.

“What’s wrong, Ezra?” A flash of emotion crosses his face so quickly you aren’t even sure you actually saw it. But if you did…for a moment he looked almost…pained…

“Nothing, sunshine. The chill of the night just leaves an ache in my bones, is all.”

“You’re lying,” you whisper, stepping closer. Perhaps it was the bleariness of sleep that still lingered with you that emboldened you. Or perhaps it was the tantalizing aura that surrounded him that drew you in. Either way, you find yourself staring up at him, concern shining in your eyes bright as the full moon outside. His smile is forced, you can tell, as he puts his hand on your shoulder.

“Little gem, I promise you, the weight I carry is not something I need burden you with. Your hospitality has been unparalleled, and I will not permit myself to impose on you more than I already have.” His warm, tender eyes search yours, begging for you to listen to him. But stubbornness has always run hot in your veins.

“Didn’t I tell you before?” You reach up and take his hand gently in yours. “I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure. Ezra, what’s wrong?” His hand twitches in yours before he gently pulls away, his smile significantly sadder.

“The life of a reprobate like myself should never tarnish the luster of someone like you, sunshine. I will not give you my sins to carry.” He reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear before smiling and moving past you to lay down on the couch. A glance to the clock shows you’ve well missed dinner time, sitting at 8:30 now. With a sigh, you meander back into the living room, taking a seat on the floor in front of the fire, letting the heat warm your soul from the chilly night air.

“We all have our own sins to deal with, you know.” Your voice is low as you watch the sparks wick up the flue. You can feel his eyes on your back, waiting for you to continue. “Everyone has a story. But the mountains don’t care about that. They don’t care about who you were before you arrive here. They don’t care about blood on your hands or the loss you’ve endured. They were here long before us and will remain here long after you or I return to the stardust we are made of.” You turn your head to look over your shoulder to see Ezra still staring at you, the fire flickering in his chocolate eyes. “The mountains offer you a chance, Ezra. That’s why I’m here…and as fate would have it, it’s why you’re here as well.” You turn your face back to the fire, Ezra staying quiet for some time behind you.

“The life I have taken to isn’t an easy one, gemstone.” His voice is low and gruff, his drawl more prominent. “I’ve done things in this life that I am ashamed to admit. Lost as much as I’ve gained, taken as much as I’ve given. And every single soul I’ve urged on to whatever follows this painful existence torments me every time I attempt a moment of respite.” The sigh from his lips is heavier than any weight you’ve ever carried, and it pains you to know he carries it alone. “I tell myself it’ll all be worth it in the end. That I’m toiling away day in and day out for a greater purpose. But it’s been near a decade, gemstone, and the end never nears.”

“You’re tired,” you whisper, turning around to look at him, taken aback by the shine in his eyes. “You’re tired and lonely. I can’t even imagine how heavy your soul feels carrying everything you do all alone, and still managing to put a smile on your face. Lord knows I couldn’t…not ‘till I came here, that is, and the town helped me bare my burden. Ezra, I don’t think it’s a coincidence you ended up here in our town. I really don’t.” You flash him a gentle smile, standing up to grab another spare blanket from the linen box, handing it to him. “Think about it, okay? Stay here for tonight. This cold is no place for anyone right now.” He takes the blanket from your hand, perplexity painting his face as you smile down at him. “Goodnight, Ezra. I hope the fire keeps the specters at bay for you tonight.” He nods as you turn, heading back to your room after turning over the laundry. He was odd, but you liked him.

Bright and early you hear a rummaging in the kitchen, the smell of bacon permeating the air. Stretching, you stumble from bed, following your nose and growling stomach. Ezra is there in your kitchen in just the sweats he was borrowing, humming to himself as he cooks. The broad expanse of his back is littered with faded white scars, some that looked to be from blades, and some from burns. His humming voice is lovely, you think, smiling as you lean against the doorway to watch him. He seems so at home, you feel it inappropriate to disturb him. It’s when he turns to put a bowl in the sink that he catches you from the corner of his eye.

“Well good morning, sunshine. I beg your pardon but I permitted myself the liberty of preparing a warm breakfast for the two of us.” His smile that pulls at his lips is brighter than last night, and you felt certain the dread that plagued him had passed for now.

“Did you sleep well?” You inquire, moving into the kitchen to pull down two glasses to fill them with orange juice.

“A specterless dream for the first time in what seems like forever, gemstone.” He places his hand on the small of your back as he moves past you to keep you from bumping back into him, setting the plate of eggs and bacon on the table. The touch feels electric, and you find yourself shocked in how much you enjoy the feeling.

“The mountains have that effect on a weary soul,” you smile, bringing the glasses over. “Coffee?”

“That would be magnificent. But I don’t presume that the mountains have much to do with the reprieve I was so graciously afforded last night.” Your smile doesn’t fade as you put the coffee pot on to percolate, taking down two mugs after the fact.

“Pray tell what you think might be the source of such a thing?”

“I do believe it might have a thing or two to do with the enchantress that graces my vision in the radiance of the morning light.” Heat floods your cheeks as the coffee pot buzzes, the smell of fresh brew mingling beautifully with that of the bacon. You pour two cups, handing Ezra his before joining him at the table.

“I’m a simple mountain girl, I doubt it has anything to do with me.”

“You humble yourself far too much, gemstone. A heart of purer gold than the ore I mine, and the shining soul to match.” He holds his mug up in a toast before bringing it to his lips. “Ones like you are few and far between.”

“And ones like you even more so, I would say.” You return his toast before serving yourself a bit of breakfast. “Thank you for cooking, Ezra. It was very kind of you to do.”

“But the smallest thanks I could give in return for such philanthropy as what you have shown me these past twelve hours.” He chuckles, eating rather quickly, a habit that you feel was one developed over the long time spent in his lifestyle. He finishes well before you, standing to clear his plate. “I’ve imposed for far too long, I fear. I’ll change and be on my way. Gold doesn’t mine itself, I’m afraid.” You chuckle and nod, standing to stop him as he moves towards the hallway.

“Ezra, you are welcome here always. Tent or no tent, you’re welcome to kick your feet up on my hearth whenever you wish. And I do mean that.” Your voice is soft as you look up at him, eyes to match. He returns your gaze, a gentle smile working his way across his lips as he smooths your bed-messed hair.

“There is that heart of gold, my little gemstone.” The tenderness in his voice warms you through, and your heart aches when he steps away. “But I won’t impose a moment longer.” His smile stays as he goes to collect his clothes, quickly changing in the bathroom before making his exit, heading back down to the mine.

And so the days continue. The miners would come for lunch and you would help to serve it, each day Ezra staying close to you to keep you company. His honey dipped accent brought you more joy than you thought a simple sound could, and it made the days pass more quickly. In the evenings when he was done at the mine, he would come to your doorstep, leaning against the support as he talked with you, reveling in the laugh he was able to earn from you with his tales. Each night, you would offer him a warm place to lay his weary head, but every night was the same. A polite decline and an insistence that he could not allow himself to burden you more than he already had before he would excuse himself, heading back to the ridge where the trees would keep him company.

The night he doesn’t come to talk to you, you find yourself watching out the window for him, worry seizing your heart. The sky had been boiling as you had finished working in your yard for the evening, waiting on the loquacious prospector to come and keep you company as he had for weeks now. Rain was coming, you could feel it in your bones, a chill gripping you as the night grows colder. As far as you knew, Ezra still hadn’t purchased himself a proper shelter to ward off the rain, and that thought terrified you. No one should be out in such conditions, no matter how much they felt they deserved to be.

Lightning cracks the sky, your worried reflection flashing back at you for the briefest of moments as the bottom opens out of the sky. A Colorado thunderstorm, true to form. A shiver runs through you at the thought of Ezra out in this, and you decide it best to start a fire in the event that he happened to stumble to your doorstep. And no sooner have you worked the fire up to a low roar in the hearth, do you hear a knock at the door. You wrap your knit blanket around your shoulders, moving to open the door, and there he stands looking more akin to a drowned rat than you have ever seen. Lightning illuminates his face and all you can see is pain, sending your heart into a sprint as you reach for him, pulling him inside.

“Ezra, oh my God, what happened? Why were you out in this?” You lead him into the living room, sitting him down in front of the fire to dry him out and warm him through. “Are you hurt, what happened?” He only groans, leaning forward until his face rests against your shoulder, his breathing ragged. Your arms gingerly wrap around him, holding him to you. “Ezra, you’re scaring me, what happened?”

“A-Accident. In the mine. Rock slide. Hurt m-my arm…” He groans and your throat all but closes as your blood runs cold. You pull back gently, cradling his chin in your palm. The way his forehead creases in pain terrifies you before you even so much as see his arm. You pull back just enough to see the blood soaking through his drenched jacket, his arm cradled at an unnatural angle.

“Oh fuck…” You pull back, easing him down as gently as possible as you pull out your phone, cradling his head in your lap. After the third ring, a gentle voice answers. “Dr. Renslier, I need you to come to my house right away. I have an injured miner here. His arm is badly hurt and he’s bleeding through his clothes. I’m scared to move him…” Ezra’s breath hitches as he bites back another groan, guilt settling in his stomach at causing you so much worry.

“G-Gemstone, stop those tears…” He reaches up with his good hand, wincing as it jostles his right arm, to wipe the tears from your cheeks. “An incorrigible man such as myself is undeserving of such acts of affection. Save those diamonds, little gem.” You tilt your head into his touch, fear still paralyzing your heart.

Dr. Renslier was the only doctor in town, a retired surgeon from Denver Medical Center. He was the best of the best during his time there, and decided to take his skills to this little community, settling in with his wife and their three dogs. The town loved him, and he was one of the few people you would trust with your life in a fraction of a heart beat. So when your door opens and you hear his voice calling from the doorway, a wash of relief floods over you. He kneels next to Ezra, already pulling out scissors to cut away the bloodied jacket. The sight this reveals has your stomach turning and you fight to keep dinner down.

“W-Well? How bad is it doc?” Ezra’s usually rich voice is weak and strangled as he battles with the pain. “Give it to me st-straight.”

“It’s…not good. I don’t think…I don’t think we can save it.” Bone protruded through what was left of the skin in multiple places, the breaks jagged and splintered. “Even if we were in Denver I don’t think I could…save this.” He rummages in his bag for a syringe, tapping out the air before squeezing the flesh of Ezra’s shoulder, administering the injection. “That will help with the pain.” He grumbles about the storm as he pulls out a tourniquet, tying it off just below the shoulder. “We need to get him to the office. He’s going to need a transfusion and I need to operate, now.” You nod as you shift out from under Ezra, him already feeling the effects of what you could only assume was morphine, before helping the doctor to carry him to the car. You elect to ride along, knowing he would need help getting Ezra inside before the nurse on duty would take over.

As soon as you are ushered from the operating bay, you stagger to a chair, sitting down heavily as the adrenaline finally wears off. Tears brim and spill over once again before you drop your face to your blood covered hands, sobbing. Eventually, your sobs turn to whimpers turn to pained sniffles before exhaustion overtakes you, succumbing to a fitful sleep. You are awoken by the nurse, a gentle, pity-filled smile on her face. “He’s out of surgery and resting in a bed now. We need to get you cleaned up before you can see him, ok? We have a set of scrubs you can wear for now.” You simply nod, getting up to follow her as she leads you to the bathroom. The scrubs are folded neatly on the bench by the sink and you smile despite yourself.

Once clean and dressed, you make your way back out to the hall, the nurse waiting to lead you to the recovery beds. You feel as if you could collapse in sobs once more seeing Ezra laid up as he is, face pale and IV drip in his arm. Small bandages littered his face and what you could see of his left arm. As for his right…all that was left was a nub just below his shoulder, tied off in a neat bandage. You draw up a seat next to him, taking his hand in yours, drawing circles along the skin with your thumb. You would wait here for him to wake, you decide.

And so you do, falling asleep with his hand in yours. The feeling of his hand twitching in yours is what wakes you, your eyes snapping open to check on him. The groan that slips from his lips sounds so pained. Slowly, his eyes flutter open, squinting at the bright lights of the med bay before they land on you. A smile tugs at those lips of his when he realizes you were still there, beside him, and he squeezes your hand weakly.

“My little gemstone…” His voice is hoarse, but sweet, traces of that honey slowly returning. “Did you stay here the whole time?”

“As long as they would let me, Ezra.”

“You really didn’t nee-” You cut him off before he could finish the sentence.

“I wanted to. Please don’t ask me to leave, Ezra, because I won’t. I’m not leaving your side.” Rich chocolate eyes grow glassy at your proclamation, hips lips pressing into a tight line, but he nods all the same, secretly relieved that you wanted to stay with him.

“You must believe me a damn fool for finding myself in such a predicament.” His voice is tinged with humor, and you flash him a tired smile, shaking your head.

“It was an accident, Ezra. You said so yourself. I’m just relieved you’re alive to joke about it.” You return the squeeze to your hand and his eyes travel down to where you have interlocked your fingers with his. “Ezra,” you say quietly, drawing his eyes back to yours. “I want you to stay with me.”

“Well, I imagine that will certainly be preferable to the minute comforts an institution such as this could afford me whilst I recover as best I can…” His voice trails off, tight at the end of his statement as he looks to what remains of his arm.

“That’s not what I mean,” you whisper, your voice trembling with trepidation. Concerned eyes find yours again, an eyebrow arched. “I want you to _stay_ with me. No more roaming, no more running…stay here. After the rush leaves, I want you to stay. With me.” His lips part slightly as you vocalize a desire he has had since the day he first followed you home.

“Sunshine, I couldn’t possibly be such a burden on you.”

“Dammit you bullheaded man! _Listen_ to me! You aren’t a burden, you aren’t a hassle. Arm or no arm, I want you here, with me. Sharing my home, my life. I want that, Ezra.” You pick up his hand, bringing it to your lips to brush them over his knuckles. “I want you. I want an us…” You clench your eyes closed and you feel him pull his hand away before he lays it against your cheek.

“Gemstone…look at me.” You do as asked, looking up at him with glassy eyes that match his own. “Do you mean it? Do you really want me here? Is that what your heart is singing to you?” You nod, laying your hand over his against your cheek.

“Yes, Ezra, and I think it has been since the day you followed me home. Please, Ezra…” Confliction flashes in his eyes as he watches your face, your tears spilling over once more and he quickly wipes them away with the calloused pad of his thumb.

“No tears for me, little gemstone. I…I’ll stay…” You blink, almost not believing the words that came from his mouth.

“You…you mean it?”

“I do. My bones are tired, gem. My soul is tired. And since you extended such kindness to me that night, my dreams have left me in peace. All I dream about are your eyes which hold galaxies and your musical laugh. And being next to you…” You turn your head to nuzzle his hand, warmth flowing through you as you take in his words before you look back to him.

“We’re not so different then. You haven’t left my dreams, or my thoughts, since that night.” Ezra chuckles lowly before letting out a yawn, sinking back into the pillows. “Rest now, alright? I’ll be here when you wake.” He nods, pulling your hand away from where it holds his to your face, bringing it to his lips to place a feather-light kiss to your knuckles before laying it to rest by his side, his eyes slowly slipping shut.

The gold rush brought many people to your quaint little mountain town; miners and prospectors, dreamers and fighters, men and women with delusions of grandeur and those just trying to scrape by. But out of all of them, all of those you had befriended in your time helping to ensure they were fed, the one most important to you was Ezra. You don’t think it was a coincidence he ended up running to the same town you did so many years ago. The universe worked in ways no mere mortal would every truly understand. But that didn’t matter. So long as you had him by your side, the universe could act however it saw fit. Because with Ezra here beside you, your two weary souls could finally find solace in the cradle of the mountains.


	2. Colorado Rocky Mountain High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the gold rush, so much has changed and Ezra struggles with the loss of his dominant arm. You do your best to comfort him, and with you help, he takes control once more of his life.

As with all things, the gold rush came and went, leaving your little town in the mountains to be remembered only in history books and the minds of the prospectors who gave it so much life for the extent of their stay. The economic boom had left its mark on the little hamlet; businesses were prospering, roads were improved, housing expanded to accommodate the new members of the town who chose to stay after the rush tapered. And life for most returned to normal.

For most.

For some, life as normal would never be the same.

For all that the mountains can and have given, they can take just as much. The gold rush saw great loss. Four miners were lost to a tunnel collapse, their bodies dug out and buried in the little cemetery at the edge of town. The whole town attended to pay their respects as the small choir lamented with Amazing Grace. Even more still were injured in one way or another, be it head injuries, broken limbs or ribs, or crushed hands or feet. One man was deafened in a mistimed explosion, and another was blinded when a bucket of solvent was knocked on to him from a scaffold. It’s a dangerous business, prospecting and mining. Ezra had told you as much, even shown you a few of his scars from the times tools or errant rock had marred his honey golden skin.

Ezra…

The accident that fateful night took so much from him. Yes, it took his dominant arm, that much is obvious, but that isn’t even remotely close to all the mountain took from him. That night, the mountain took from him his dream, his livelihood. It took everything he had worked so hard to build in his life. It took his drive and his passion, it took his reason for being, his reason for fighting. It took from him his hope for the better life he had regaled to you in sonnets so sweet the bard himself would envy the silken words that fell from his tongue. And though he hid his brokenness behind a pleasant smile and warm demeanor, especially around you, you knew he suffered, and it pained you to know he felt as though he should suffer alone. You know he feared being a burden to you, and no matter the number of times you had told him he would never be such a thing, his stubbornness won out.

After he had been discharged from the hospital, Ezra came home with you as the two of you two had agreed to the night he woke up from surgery. Your confession to him followed by his acceptance to stay went unspoken as you helped him to adjust to life without his most trusty companion. You let him have your bed, keeping him propped up as directed by the doctor until he received the all clear to lay normally again. It was only after he reached that point that you felt brave enough to join him, knowing you wouldn’t re-injure him. The nights were difficult, and many times he would wake screaming from the vivid nightmares that had returned after the accident. You would coo and soothe him, carefully brushing back his shaggy hair as you roused him from his terrors before lulling him back to sleep. Your back ached from the number of times you had fallen asleep on the floor just to be close to him when he needed you, but you would never complain about it, preferring it to Ezra suffering alone.

It frustrated your prospector, having to be helped in such an extensive manner, and you couldn’t blame him. The man had grown used to doing all things on his own, no matter the difficulty of the task, and took great pride in getting as far as he had on his own. Now, he couldn’t so much as change his own shirt without your assistance, and it devastated him.

“Oh how the mighty fall, Little Gem,” he would lament as you helped to scrub his back while he sits in the bath. You didn’t acknowledge the tears that race down his cheeks, falling like little diamonds into the water of the tub. You knew he didn’t want any of the sympathy you had to offer him, so you held it within you to mourn for him alone when he could not hear.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ez. The presence of both appendages does not a man make. You are as much of who you were before this accident now as you were then.” He would chuckle a humorless laugh that rends your heart in two, shaking his head as if to shake off your words.

“I lack the capacity to so much as write my name in a manner that looks more proficient than a toddler. I cannot so much as dress myself without difficulty and I require your assistance to even maintain my most basic level of hygiene. This damn left arm is near useless. Tell me how I can be the man I was when holding a glass without dropping it has become such a herculean task.” His tone was always bitter when he asked you these things, and you know he doesn’t mean to lash out at you, but it hurts all the same. You can’t blame him, a wounded animal bites even the hand that offers it help. But you would never let him know how much it hurts you to see him like this. To add that guilt to the plate of suffering he already carried would be beyond cruel.

You do your best by him, helping to encourage his healing through behaving as though nothing had changed, knowing that’s what he needed. When the cup slips and shatters, you say nothing as you simply move to sweep the glass, taking his hand to kiss his knuckles when you finish. When the clothes won’t come off, you simply help to lift them over his head, your hands smoothing along the planes of his chest in the most comforting manner you can manage before placing a kiss above his heart. When he needs help in the bath, you run your fingers over the knots in the tense muscles, helping to rub away the stress he carries with him. You do your best to eliminate “do you need help?” from your vocabulary all together, simply acting rather than asking, making no move to mention the actions you take. You know to be reminded he needs more help than he ever has before will only cause him to sink lower, and so you do your best to not.

Joining that phrase is the question “are you alright?” Every time you ask him, his eyes flash and he turns away with a simple, “of course.” You know he’s not, he knows he’s not, but neither of you will ever say otherwise. You’re not one to press, and he’s not one to admit his own weaknesses, and so you lay in bed with a breaking heart late at night when you hear him sitting outside on the porch with painful sobs tearing from his throat.

Tonight is one of those nights. The starlight that paints the earth in its gentle silver glow is softer than the most peaceful of lullabyes, a clear summer night. The space beside you is empty, Ezra having rolled out nearly half an hour ago after tossing and turning for almost two hours trying to sleep. He wouldn’t let you touch him to comfort him tonight, flinching away whenever you laid a hand against him, and so you rolled over to give him the space he needed, biting back tears. When you heard the sound of the front door closing as softly as he could manage, you knew where he was going. His cries lit through the open window of the bedroom, broken and pained and so full of loss it nearly brings you to tears yourself. And you can’t take it anymore. You can’t bear to have him suffering like this on his own.

And so you roll out of bed yourself, gathering your shared blanket around you as you pad to the front door. With a deep breath, you slowly open the door, trying your best to not startle the man on the porch. As you step out, you hear the cries choke off as he attempts to smother them, turning away from you. He isn’t even sitting on the porch swing, electing instead to sit on the ground, leaning against the house. “G-Go back to bed, Gemstone,” he rasps, his shoulders shaking as he hides his face from you. You say nothing as you walk over to him, ignoring his order. Slowly, you kneel besides him and you see him stiffen. With gentle fingers, you reach for his jaw, turning his face back to look at you. He resists at first until you breathe out his name. The sound washes over him like a spell and he relaxes, letting you turn his face to yours.

Tears have left their trails along his cheeks, his eyes red and swollen from them. The dark circles under his eyes are only exacerbated by the starlight painting his face, causing that little blonde patch to turn silver under its gentle caress. The light in his eyes is dull and broken and _desperate_ and you can hear him screaming for you though his lips make no sounds. He stares at you, crying for you as he leans into your touch that cups his stubbly cheek and you can feel him trembling as he fights to keep back the sobs that so desperately want to tear from his chest. “I’m here. I’ve got you,” is all you say in the breath of a whisper. Your hand moves from his cheek to the back of his head and you slowly pull him against you. He makes no move to resist, slumping against your body as your arms cradle him against your chest and wrap him in the blanket.

Here, cradled against you, he finally breaks. His body trembles and convulses with the force of his cries, his tears dampening your shirt as you sit there with tears in your own eyes, cradling him to you with a hand behind his head and a hand on his back. His hand clings to your shirt like a drowning man clings to a lifeline. He sounds so broken, so _scared_ , but you can’t bring yourself to say a word as he finally, for the first time, completely lets go in front of you. The dam has finally burst, and you would give him as long as he needs, wrapped in your arms and blanket.

When the sobs abate to soft cries to whimpers to eventual silence, you finally shift just enough to look at him still clinging to your shirt with his ear pressed against your chest, listening to the steady thrum of your heart. Your fingers run through his hair once before you press a gentle kiss to his crown, taking in the silence of a Rocky Mountain summer night. “I am at a loss, Little Gem,” he finally whispers, laying down in your lap to look out the front of the porch. Your hand busies itself with his hair while the other rests on his side. “I know not where I should begin now. Every whisper and promise of a dream has been so cruelly taken from me and has rendered me a husk of who I once was. You once told me the mountains take no care for who a man once was or has once done, but you never told me they take from you just as much as they grant with their sweet reprieve.” Your heart clenches in your chest at the broken voice that comes from the man in your lap and you swallow back a fresh wave of tears.

It’s quiet for a long moment as you ponder your response, wondering what it is that you would say to give this broken man some solace. “What I told you that night was true, Ezra. The mountains don’t care who you were before you found your way to them. And they don’t care who you long to be, what you long to achieve. The mountains…they just _are_. They are a constant, unyielding and ever present. They are not cruel or evil, nor are the kind and gentle. They just are. They give and take no different than you or I.” You fall silent again, looking out over the ridge, thinking back on your fist days in this small town. Ezra turns in your lap, looking up at you with curious, tired eyes, but you don’t see it, too lost in your own thoughts. As he watches you, the thoughts dance through his mind of just what you have seen to have such a weight in your gaze, such an edge to that shine. What have you seen in your short amount of days on this earth that burdens your mind to this point?

“Starlight?” he whispers, worried when you stay quiet for so long. You blink rapidly, looking down at him with a daze in your eyes. “That mind of yours appears to have ventured from me for a tick there. Take me with you?” The corner of your lip quirks up in a slight smile before you sigh and brush your knuckles against the stubble of his cheek.

“I told you that I was running when I found this place.” You look back over the ridge. “He passed away almost two years ago now, but there was a man I knew when I first arrived who befriended me. An older gentleman who had been living here since his 27th year on this planet we call home.” Ezra watches you with a curious fondness as you begin your tale, and it draws a gentle smile to your lips as you talk, looking down at him occasionally. “He left everything he had ever known to come here, had been on the road for over a year when he got here as he played with the idea of going home. It was a string that connected him to where he came from, a song. That string broke as soon as he arrived here. He told me ‘It was like coming home. I’d never been here before, but it was like coming home.’” A fond smile dances across your face. “So he left yesterday behind him. Called it ‘being born again.’ I really looked up to that man, to John. When I still couldn’t settle here, still felt like I was being chased by everything I was trying to leave behind, he took me on a hike through spots that I would have never found on my own. It was…it was like he had a key to everything around him, he could just _find it_.” Your eyes reconnect with Ezra’s and they’re so full of wonder and intrigue, you smile a full smile. “I want to take you on the hike, Ezra. I want to show you what he showed me.”

Ezra watches you in awe, at a complete loss for words as the emotions play over your face, and when you smile at him, he feels his heart attempt to beat from his chest as your face lights up brighter than the full winter moon. His hand moves as if of its own accord, reaching up to cup your face gently, reminding him that you were very much real and here with him and not some empyreal being here to laureate his dreams before disappearing into the night as vapor on the wind. Your eyes shine with a curious light, your face anointed in the starlight that only seems to enhance your beauty and he knows there, in that moment, that he would bring down the moon for you if only you asked, right arm be damned. “Show me, Starlight,” he whispers, thumb tracing your cheek. “Show me what wondrous doors were opened for you that the light in your eyes becomes so resplendent.”

You pick up your hand from his stomach, laying it over his on your face and smile down at him, nodding as you bite back happy tears this time. “I’ll show you, Ezra. I’ll show you everything.” You wrap your fingers around his hand, bringing his knuckles to your lips to kiss them gently. “You’ll need your rest for the hike. Let’s go back inside and see if sleep will grant us some reprieve. Tomorrow, we’ll pack and prepare and head off the day after. I have so many things to show you, Ez. So many.”

The smile across his face, one that you hadn’t seen since before his accident, causes your heart to stutter in your chest. You suck in a small breath at the sheer beauty of it as it played with the starlight that made him to look like some ethereal god. “You have already shown me so much, Little Gemstone… I will follow you wherever you may venture. Let’s go to bed now, this weary old body won’t stay awake much longer and I’d hate for you to have to carry me.” You giggle at his teasing tone, nodding before helping him up, making certain to keep the blanket slung across both of your shoulders.

As the two of you snuggle into bed, Ezra’s arm around you and your ear pressed to his chest, you can’t help but wonder if this is the feeling that John had told you about those years ago when you had first met him. This feeling of home. _This has to be it_ , you think as your eyes slip closed to the sound of Ezra’s gentle heartbeat.

– – –

The next morning Ezra is more animated than you had seen since the accident. He’s babbling non stop in that beautiful Tennessee drawl about how excited he was, how ready to be out of the house for a few days he was and it warmed your heart to see him so. He is so much more like the man you met at the beginning of the rush, animated and alive.

“Little Gem,” he asks from his position on the couch, head in your lap as you read your weathered copy of _Wuthering Heights_ as your idle hand runs through his hair absently.

“Yes, my loquacious lover?” you quipp back, smiling at the tinge of pink the name brings to his cheeks. He clears his throat with a smile before he speaks.

“What will we be seeing on this sojourn we embark on tomorrow?” You lower the book, smiling down at him fondly as you continue your ministrations in his hair.

“You’d rather me spoil the surprise by telling you beforehand?”

He ponders this, brow creasing as he thinks. “Well, I suppose something more general is what I’m asking. I have always wanted to see one of the waterfalls here. These mountains are so much grander than my Smokies back in Tennessee, I want to see how the falls compare. Are they taller? Do they roar with such splendor you feel it in the cavity of your chest? Do they dust you with such a pleasant mist that you feel cleansed, body and mind, as you stand in it?” You chuckle and smooth the little blonde patch that always seemed so unruly, sticking out at odd angles at all times.

“There is a waterfall I can show you, and a clear blue mountain lake. We’ll be climbing quite high so you can see my favorite view in all of the Rocky Mountains.”

“I do believe I’ve already found my favorite view in all of these lovely mountains you call home, Little Gem.”

“Have you now?”

He nods, a playful smile on his face. “And she’s looking back at me as we speak with such a bewitching gaze I fear I may be forever under her spell.” Heat immediately rushes to your cheeks as he smiles at you, and for the first time in a long time, you feel flustered and unsure of how to respond. But that doesn’t matter, Ezra has enough words for both of you. “The absolute vision that you are, Little Gem, would diminish the luster of any view in the great big and beautiful world. So ethereally graceful and-” He would continue on except for the fact that your lips, soft as the petals of a rose, are on his and for all the words in his prolific lexicon, he cannot for the life of himself come up with any as he is overcome with the feeling of your lips on his.

He freezes for a moment and you grow worried, breaking the kiss and leaning back to look at him, worried. You had kissed his cheek before, and his knuckles more times than you could count. You had peppered kisses along his shoulders as you rubbed them, and graced the skin above his heart with them when you helped him change, but you had yet to share the feeling of your lips pressed together, and now you worry you have crossed some unspoken line based on the strange light in his eyes as he stares back at you, uncharacteristically silent. “I… I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me, I-” Ezra cuts you off, his hand on the back of your head as he eases you back down to capture your lips once more with his own, reveling in how they move so languidly against his, how they seemed to fit so perfectly as the meld together. Such an intimate dance, and it pulls a feather soft moan from your lips that causes his heart to leap into a sprint.

When you pull away, winded by the emotions rendered in the kiss, Ezra is staring at you like you hung the moon, which does little to calm your racing heart. His eyes shine with the light of the moon pouring in through your window as he stares with nothing but wondrous amazement. “Do not ever apologize for gracing me with such a display of passion, my Little Gemstone, my Starlight.” His hand rests lightly on your cheek as he smiles up at you, thumb tracing your cheekbone. “Such perfection has chosen me to lavish her affections on, and I could not possibly think to take offense.”

“Ezra, if you keep on like this, I might just have to kiss you again,” you mumble, never the graceful one with complements.

“Is that a promise?” His Cheshire grin spells nothing but mischief as he gazes up at you and your stomach flips.

“Absolutely, Lover.” He shivers at the name as you lean in to kiss him once more, letting the world melt away around you both as you drink one another in.

~~~

“Little Gemstone, you did not adequately emotionally prepare me for the incline at which we now find ourselves hiking,” Ezra grumbles off to your right, huffing under the weight of the water, food, and bedroll he carries in his pack. Your laugh echoes off the trees around you, more musical than anything he has ever heard and he smiles despite himself.

“Come on, Ez, it’s not that bad. Besides, a little bit of cardio is good for the heart and the soul.” He rolls his eyes at your words, that little blonde patch on his head shining like gold in the sun. He looks breathtaking.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were taking me to some secluded spot to leave me stranded! Lamenting my poor luck as I waste away to nothingness, victim of a forgone love!”

“You read too many murder mysteries, Lover.” You round the bend, using the tree next to your path to help hoist yourself over a particularly large boulder before turning to offer your arm down to Ezra. Stubbornly, he tries to decline your offer, but today you are having none of it. “Ezra, listen to me for a moment.” The severity of your tone is unlike anything you normally use with him, and it brings him pause for just a moment, brow furrowed. “This isn’t an offer of sympathy, or of pity. This isn’t me thinking you can’t do this on your own. This isn’t me thinking you less a man. This is me offering my equal help where you may need it and is in no way different from what I would expect you to offer to me. You caught me when I fell, now let me lift you up. Leave yesterday behind you, and take my hand.” He stares at you, once more finding himself at a loss for words as he lets yours sink in before nodding at the resolution in your eyes, and takes your hand. With a grunt, you help him up and around the bend, standing on tip-toe to kiss his cheek once he joins you. “Always forward, never back, Lover.” He watches you with a borderline reverent awe as you march on ahead, resolute in your path through the pines before following after you as he promised he would. How could such magnificence be real?

Three days of hiking and camping by the fire find you securely in one of the most isolated locations Ezra has ever seen. The sun hangs low in the sky as the end of the third day nears, finally finding you at your destination at the tree line. Excitement courses through your veins as you turn to him. “Just through these trees, Ez. It’s a view unlike any you have seen before, I’m sure of it.” You take his hand, beaming at him and he thinks for just a moment that the view is standing before him already.

He follows you, your fingers interlaced with his own as you lead him around trees and over fallen logs until the trees suddenly give way to the most breathtaking view he has ever borne witness to. His mouth falls open with a sharp gasp as you lead him to the edge of the grassy overlook. He could see for miles and miles and _miles_ through the clear blue sky. Peak gives way to peak gives way to peak of the glorious Rocky Mountains, and through the valleys drift lazy clouds of spun silver. He feels so close to the sky that all he would need to do is reach out and he could pluck a bit of the crystal blue for himself. The wind picks up, a cool breeze that rustles your clothes and the pines around you as you look over the mountains you call home together.

“We made it in time,” you whisper and he glances at you, confused until you point out to the horizon. He follows your gesture, still unsure as to what you’re looking at until he sees two small black dots steadily growing in size as they approach you. It takes him a moment to realize they’re eagles, two glorious and majestic bald eagles flying together over the ridges, catching the thermals on their wings as they soar, the epitome of freedom. “John called them the Guardians of the Range,” you explain in a hushed, awe filled voice as you watch the birds. “They’re a mated pair who nest here in the seclusion, untouched by civilization. They’ve been here as long as John could remember when he first showed them to me, always flying at the same time every night in this intricate dance they have.” You carefully lace your fingers through Ezra’s, squeezing his hand gently with a rapturous smile on your face. “He said we need to be like these eagles, free and soaring. Flying high above the cathedral mountains in our race to dance with the sun as he sets below the horizon. Not letting a single thing tie us down, not letting a single thing limit our potential for greatness.”

Ezra is watching you now, the birds having fallen to their nest in the treeline when he realizes there are tears slowly streaming down your face. “Gemstone,” he whispers, worried, and you turn to smile at him through the tears in your eyes and he realizes the emotion that you associate with the place. The overwhelming rapture you feel from the majesty all around you. And he wants to feel it to, that rapture, that grace. What it is to let go and be so totally consumed in such a bliss. He wants to share that with you, something more intimate in his mind than any act of the flesh could ever pray to be.

“Are you ready to see it raining fire in the sky, Ezra?”

“Raining… fire?” You nod, looking up to the sky that is laced with high wispy clouds and he once again follows your gaze.

“You’ll see what I mean,” you say, sitting down in the grass as you pull his hand for him to join you. He does, leaning against you in an attempt to feel that elation that radiates from you, desperate for it as his heart pounds in his chest. He can feel your excitement, your anticipation as you wait with bated breath.

Slowly, the sun sinks behind the ridge and the sky begins to change. The clouds turn to spun gold painted across a bright orange and vermilion sky tinged with purple at the edges. It all swirled around in a gorgeous inferno of a sunset and Ezra _gets it_. Like the final piece of the puzzle snapping into place, he _gets it_. He gets all of it. He gets _you_. He jumps when your thumb wipes a tear from his cheek he hadn’t even realized had escaped. His eyes find yours and he sees the matching tears on your face. A small, breathless laugh ghosts past his lips as he sees you painted like some classic masterpiece in the oranges and golds of the Colorado sunset. They wrap around you more elegantly than the most lavish and regal of ballgowns and he realizes he had been wrong before. _This_ was the most beautiful sight he has ever seen, and if he died here on the spot, he would die happy and at peace for the first time in his life, your brilliant smile the only vision in his mind.

You can see it in his eyes. You can see the elation, the rapture and understanding and you _know_. You know he’s found what you were trying to show him this whole time, what you were unable to put into words. “You know,” you murmur, wiping your own tears away as the euphoria from moments ago leaves you feeling high; the Rocky Mountain high, John had called it. “They say in places like this, you can talk to God and listen for his casual reply, that’s how close to heaven you are.” You pull your knees to your chest, gazing out over the ridge as the last strokes of light give way to the blanket of night.

“Have you?” he asks, laying back on the grass with his arm behind his head.

“I’ve never tried before. I come here to sit in a sort of quiet solitude of the forest and streams. If you listen hard enough, you can hear the water trickling through the mountain, hear breaths of wind tumbling down the ridge line. I think that’s what they mean by it.” You look down at him on your right and you smile, watching as the starlight slowly bathes him once again. “Sometimes… sometimes I can feel John here, too. Standing next to me like he did the first time he ever showed me this little haven. I can feel his hand on my shoulder as I watch the eagles take to the sky with their elegance and I can hear his laugh on the wind.” You wipe the tears once again, letting out a little sniffle as you make yourself to smile again.

“I am not a religious man, Little Gemstone, but this place… this place is the closest thing to a higher power I have ever felt.” He turns to look at you, your eyes sparkling like the stars in the sky that form a halo around your head as the diamonds of your tears fall from your face. “And you’re the angel that delivered me here to this salvation.” Smiling, you lay beside him and he holds his arm out for you to cuddle into his side, holding you as close as he possibly can. “I get it, Gemstone. I understand.” Your eyes slip closed and you smile, enjoying the intimacy of this moment, of this feeling. “Everything you’ve told me since you so graciously offered me shelter in your abode that fateful first night. I… I can breathe again. It feels as though I have had the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders.”

“The mountains will take care of you,” you whisper, letting your head rest against his chest to hear his heartbeat in time with yours, resting in the cradle of the mountains as you bathe together in the starlight.

“Born again,” he whispers back as he makes the resolution to turn his sights inside himself. He has so much he has yet to learn and understand, but he could do that here. He could do that with you, in this place.

In the Colorado Rocky Mountains, his heart could finally be at peace.

Ezra is home. 


	3. A Little Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life continues for you and your prospector in Colorado; Marriage, school, a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Food mention, pregnancy mention, hella domesticity

In the cradle of the mountains you found your home with Ezra. Though the path here was treacherous for both of you, you made it all the same, hand in hand. Each of you had loved and lost more than anyone should ever in their time on this planet, and you still have so much life left to live. An exciting prospect, so long as the two of you have one another.

The trip to your sanctuary stirred something in Ezra, something you had never previously seen even before he lost his arm to the accident. A light shines in his eyes now that reminds you of the first breath from the crisp morning air. His movements are more languid, moving like the mountain stream, meandering. He has nowhere to go, and certainly nowhere to go quickly. The man who came to you nearly two years ago was burning at both ends, in a frantic race to his eminent demise without a care in the world for himself. But this man that now made his home with you? This man was a changed one. This man was finally free. 

“Just a minute more, Gemstone,” he would murmur, rocking slowly on the porch swing as he watched the sunset over the range with you curled in his lap. “No need to rush,” he would insist as the cold Colorado rain rapidly soaked him to the bone as he meandered home, much to your shivering displeasure. “Please, a little longer,” he would whisper against your skin, his face buried in the crook of your neck as he held you against him in the silvery light of the moon as you listened to the crickets sing. He was making up for lost time, and you knew it, so you let him have whatever it was he asked for. 

The nightmares gradually ceased, and the dexterity of his left hand steadily improved with resolute practice and your unwavering patience. The doctor had recommended you to a physical therapist a few towns down the mountain, and Ezra took to it like a champion. He was determined and driven to improve and be the best he could with what he had left. “How am I to care for you, Starlight, if I cannot so much as open my drinks without your assistance? This certainly will not do.” How could you argue back with such determination? And so you don’t, rather choosing to drive him wherever it is he may need, helping him with his exercises at night as he requires. You are a team, you and your prospector. 

Caring for Ezra awakens in you a new passion, a new drive. It is in your blood to help others, it always has been, and you previously satisfied that passion by helping out around town as much as you could. But your little mountain town is growing older, and the type of care and assistance the older individuals need is changing. After speaking with the one doctor your town has, the one who saved Ezra that fateful night, you sit down with Ezra to talk over your decision. You want to go to school for physical therapy. You want to be able to help the others in the town as they need, knowing so many of them have no capability of driving all the way to Denver for help. 

“My most brilliant Gemstone, whatever it is you wish to pursue in this life shall have my undying support.” He sits across from you at the table, his hand reaching out to cover your own as he watches you with eyes as rich as the soil after rain. The empty plates and wine glasses are pushed aside and forgotten as the two of you let the world fall away. “Your hands have already healed so much, you will excel in such an endeavor. This town will be blessed to have your touch working upon it.”

You flash him a nervous smile, turning your hand over to gently hold his. Where once you were his anchor, now so is he yours. “I’ve looked into it. I’ll have to drive down into Denver to take my classes. It means I’ll be gone most of the day during the week, since the drive is so long. I’ll be gone before dawn most days, lover.” The pad of Ezra’s thumb traces soothing lines along your palm as he watches you. The conflict is clear on your face as you ponder what this could mean for you, for your future with the man across from you. But the whole time, Ezra’s face is soft and supportive as he watches you. 

“While I will surely lament your absence within these walls in which we have established this courtship, so long as you find your way back to my embrace at the end of the day, I truly cannot bemoan your absence too greatly.” He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze, his playful smile stretching his lips in the manner which makes your heart flutter in your chest. “My greatest desire, Gem, is to see you at your happiest, thriving in every sense of the word.”

You’re silent for a moment or two, mulling over his words before you speak again. You have your concerns for him, but you don’t want to voice them in a way that will tear down the progress of moving forward from his accident. “What will you do while I’m away, Ez?” His grin is still strongly in place, almost as if he knows something you don’t and has been waiting for you to ask him.

“Mrs. Morrison at the little bookstore in the center of town has solicited my assistance in her shop.” Your eyebrows raise at the news, unaware he had been searching for any sort of employment. Most days while you volunteered, he would either tag along or stay home to tend to the little garden he had cultivated in your front yard. “As a dilettante of the classics of literature, she thinks my knowledge would be useful. She also has mentioned that the children have commented on my voice, and she believes they would rather enjoy me as a story time reader.” His tone holds the waiver of excitement, and a smile stretches over your face to match his own.

“Ez, that’s wonderful!” The light that shines in his eyes makes your spirit sing for him. “I wasn’t sure how you would feel about working around children. You always seem to shy away from them.”

“Children are curious creatures by nature, Gemstone, and it is no fault of their own. I just never believed myself the type of man one would want around a child. I am too rough around the edges. There is no reason for me to frighten the parents more than I am certain I already do.”

You purse your lips, standing from the table before moving to crouch in front of him as he turns in his seat to face you. His face betrays his curiosity, but he sits in silence, waiting on you to speak first. You take his hand once more in your own, tracing along the bumps and ridges of his knuckles and palm. “The parents do not fear you, Ezra. They welcome you, they know what it is you have been through and what it is you do for the town. Even the most beautiful of precious stones are rough when first pulled from the earth.” You give him a gentle smile before bringing his knuckles to your lips in a tender kiss. “Perhaps your time here has begun to smooth that which you’re worried about.”

“My Starlight, _you_ have begun to smooth any roughness that I came to you with. Your patience is unmatched and your kindness unparalleled. Truly, I have done nothing to deserve such a wondrous woman in my life.” He raises his hand, still in yours, to lay against your cheek and you lean into his touch. “I want you to follow what your heart desires, Gemstone. Go to school, learn to help people in the way you want, and the whole time, I will be here to hold you at night and cheer you on through all adversity.”

With a smile, you turn your head to kiss his palm, nuzzling against it before looking back to him. “I’ll send in my applications in the morning then.” A beat. “I’m excited, Ez.”

“As you should be. You are about to embark on a marvelous venture for truly altruistic reasons, and I could not be more proud of you.” Tears prick in your eyes at his praise and you stand, leaning in to press a sweet and tender kiss to his chapped lips. When you pull away, his eyes are hazy and the smile on his face so gentle that your heart swells at the sight. “I have something important to tell you, Gemstone,” he murmurs, pulling his hand from yours to rest it on your hip as you rest your own on his shoulders.

“And what might that be?”

“We have said it in so many ways so many times without ever letting the words themselves see the light of day.” His thumb traces lightly over your hip as he smiles up at you. “And I do believe it is time I rectify this matter.” You raise your eyebrow in question, knowing he would eventually meander his way to the point. “Little Gemstone, I love you. I adore you, I cherish you. I have never before felt such enchantment for anyone nor anything as I do under your gaze and touch. I would move the very mountains in which we live should you just ask. You are my everything, Gemstone, and I will love you until the end of our days and beyond.”

The prickling of tears in your eyes intensifies until quite tears trickle down your face. You lean down to rest your forehead against Ezra’s closing your eyes as you breath him in. The moment is still, quiet, and he makes no move to break it. Your hands travel to cup his cheeks after the moment, tilting his head and yours to press a loving kiss to his lips. When you pull back, you find his own eyes shining with unshed tears and you smile, brushing your nose against his. “I love you too, Ezra. I have for so long, and to hear the words come from your lips like this… well, you have made me the happiest woman alive, lover.”

The smile that spreads across Ezra’s stubbled face is one so radiant it could put the sunrise itself to shame. He stands from his place at the table, moving his arm to wrap around you with such a tender care. Your arms wind up and around his neck, your fingers playing in the unruly curls at the nape of his neck as he smiles down at you. “How fortunate a man I am to have been guided to such a radiant creature as you, Gemstone.” He ghosts his lips over yours before resting his forehead against your own. “I do not know precisely what endeavors may await us in our future, but I am resolute in facing them head-on with you at my side so long as you will have me.”

A huff of amusement breaks from your lips as you press yourself up against him. “Do my ears deceive me or was that a marriage proposal, Ezra?”

He grins, the tips of his ears tinting pink as his hand roams up and down your spine. “Now Starlight, when I propose, and I do intend to, it will be with more extravagance than the tail end of a conversation about medical school.” Your heart thrums in your chest. You had been mostly teasing, in no ways wishing to push Ezra from his comfort zone before he was ready. But as you pull back slightly to look into those eyes of his that you swear hold galaxies, you see no sign of trepidation. No sign at all of any sort of uncertainty. This is what he wants. _You_ are what he wants. 

“You intend to woo me, sir?”

His nose nudges yours as he leans back in, humming his affirmation. “Starlight,” A note of amusement to his tone. “Truly, would you expect anything else from me?”

~~~

“Little Bird! What is it you have gotten yourself into this time?” Ezra makes his way from the kitchen to the living room after the sound of a toy bucket tipping over resounds through the house. He sighs when his eyes land on his little daughter in the center of the room, toys pouring from the plastic tub you stored them in for her. She looks up at her frazzled father with shining wide eyes identical to his own, down to the curiosity and mischief that always lit them. “Now, Birdie, we are supposed to be _helping_ your mother tonight. Her last big exam is tonight and we need to help her relax.” Ezra ducks back to the kitchen, turning the stove down to a simmer before going to help his little girl pick up her toys, leaving a few out for the child to entertain herself with. She giggles and laughs as her father works, flinging toys around in excitement as he makes silly noises for the toys while he puts them away. 

Once all the toys are tucked away again, he presses a gentle kiss to her crown. She had inherited his little blonde patch and you adored it. Your matched set. “Now, be good for papa while he goes to finish his culinary masterpiece, alright?” The little girl hums in her melodic voice and he chuckles before standing to head back to the kitchen.

The years had seemed to pass in a whirlwind since you decided to attend medical school. You and Ezra had resolved to let life meander at its own pace, and while you worked at your prerequisites, he spent his days reading to the children of the town and plotting his proposal with the mothers and fathers who brought them. It was a strange adjustment, having you gone from his side all day - he truly did find himself lamenting your absence more than he had expected he would. To pass the time he would take care of the house, cleaning and organizing or doing the grocery shopping between his reading shifts at the bookstore. It was clear to him from the beginning that your diligence with school would afford you little time to maintain the house to your liking. So, Ezra took it upon himself to maintain things as best he could.

The night Ezra had spoken about a proposal, he had meant it. He was hellbent to woo you with words and actions alike when he finally asked for your hand. Less than six months after getting accepted to school, he had insisted on a night out at your favorite restaurant a town over. It was lovely, and he looked so handsome in his dress shirt and suit jacket, that little patch of blonde hair as unruly as always. He followed it with ice cream at the local truck and a walk out over to the bridge across the mountain river that ran through the town. It was your favorite place, one you had taken him to often to just sit and enjoy the sounds of the mountain. And it was here that he took to one knee to present you with a dazzling sapphire engagement ring as he implored you to be his till the end of time itself.

Your wedding had been a simple one. Simple and elegant. Neither of you had any family to speak of, so the only people attending save the minister were a handful of your friends in town. But that was just fine by both of you. This was for the two of you, after all. Ezra’s vows were just as eloquent and sentimental as you would have expected, and it took all of two sentences for tears to be flowing freely down your cheeks as he waxed poetic about your perfection and how you had been his guardian angel in the darkest of times. Yours were less verbose, but just as poignant. Ezra’s eyes shone with such a tender light as he listened to your promises of forever and always that a whole new well of tears began to stream down your face. When the minister finally told you to kiss, you all but threw yourself against him, arms flung around his neck as you kissed your new husband. The whole town melted away until there was only you and Ezra and it was perfect. 

Less than a year later, the little angel in your living room came along, a total accident. A happy accident, but an accident all the same. Your birth control had failed and you hadn’t the slightest clue how you would manage a pregnancy, a marriage, and your schooling. But as your pregnancy progressed, your professors worked with you, allowing you to work from home as the pregnancy wore on you, and into the first months of her being born. Not to mention that Ezra had been the most wonderful man in existence. He was patient between every mood swing and outburst, always willing to get you whatever your hormonal cravings demanded, and he never hesitated to rub your feet and ankles when they were swollen and aching. But your favorite thing was when he would lay his ear against your ever growing belly, listening to the little life growing inside of you before murmuring sweet stories and praises against your skin. Little moments like that were the most precious of memories. 

Now, you have almost finished your schooling. Today, you are taking the final test that will decide it all. Ezra had noticed just how stressed you had been over preparing for the exam the night before, studying well into the night at the kitchen table after putting your daughter to bed. It neared 2 am when he finally roused himself from the couch where he sat reading one of the tattered books he had rescued from the store at which he was still employed. He stood behind you, rubbing your neck gently before tracing his hand down your arm as you cradled your face in your hands. “Gemstone,” he had whispered in that rich Tennessee drawl that had never lessened, even as the years spent in Colorado wore on. “You have to drive to town tomorrow, so I must implore you to close these texts for the night.”

You had let out a sight at that, relaxing into the gentle touch of your husband as you lifted your head from your hands, turning to look up at him. “I feel like there is still so much I don’t have a good enough grip on, Ez. I need to study more.” His face held nothing but concern for you before he leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead.

“Now now, Gemstone. What good will it do to whittle yourself to the bone with exhaustion? You will not perform well on the exam if you cannot find it in you to stay awake. Not to mention driving exhausted is far too dangerous.” He slips around to your side, crouching to look up at you as he takes your hand in his. “Please, Starlight, come to bed. Come morning you’ll be well rested and primed for this exam. I haven’t a doubt in my mind that you will pass with flying colors.” You looked down at him, his eyes gentle and entreating and you knew he was right. You needed your rest to be able to drive and to be able to take your test well, and so you stood from the table, following him to bed with sleepy, staggering steps. 

Come morning, Ezra was awake before you, dressed and in the kitchen by the time you finally roused and dressed. Your little girl was sitting in her chair babbling away over her cereal pieces while your husband flipped pancakes in the cast iron. Even with the anxiety coursing through your veins, you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face as you watched him work and hum to himself. You pressed a kiss to your daughter’s cheek before coming up behind Ezra, wrapping your arms around his waist. “Good morning, Starlight,” he hummed with a smile as you buried your face against his back, breathing him in. “Are you ready for your big day?” 

He pulled the last pancake from the skillet before he turned in your arms to press a kiss to the top of your head. “As ready as I can be, I think. Breakfast smells amazing.” 

“Well, come and eat and have your coffee so you can excel at your exam.” You broke your hold from him, following him to the table. “Now, Gemstone, I know you’re worried, but I have absolute and total faith in your capabilities and knowledge.” You gave him a soft smile as you ate, relishing in the comfort of your little family before you finally stood and made your way to your car and off to your last day of school. 

Ezra spent the whole day thinking of you from the moment you closed the door behind you, determined to let you come home to the most relaxing setup he could. It was proving to be quite the feat with a curious toddler intent on spilling every box she could as many times as she could. He’s prepared your favorite chili and homemade cornbread, and in doing so has made a mess of the entire kitchen that he is now attempting to clean before you make it home. He isn’t quick enough, however, as the sound of your key in the lock reaches his ears.

“Ez? Birdie? I’m home.” You sound exhausted as you shut the door behind you, and as you shuffle into the kitchen, Ezra can see that you are. Your shoulders are slumped and your eyes have large bags under them. You look positively ready to drop and his heart breaks for you. He smiles at you regardless, attempting to lighten your mood, but all your eyes see is the state the kitchen is currently in and it causes you to sigh. Ezra frets for a moment, attempting to get out of his apron before coming over to you. 

“Don’t fret, Gemstone. All is well handled here, I’ll be ensuring everything is taken care of tonight. You needn’t lift a finger.” You flash him a weary smile and nod, knowing he will hold true to his words. He cups your cheek gently before following it with a soft kiss to your lips and you let out a quiet sigh as you pull back with a smile. 

“Where’s our Little Birdie?” You ask, tugging off your scarf to hang it over the back of the dining table chair.

“She’s entertaining herself in-” He doesn’t get the chance to finish as the sound of the toy bucket tipping over once more fills the house. You wander to the living room doorway with Ezra right behind you and sigh again, your daughter sitting among the spilled toy box. “Now, Little Birdie, what is it I just told you? We need to _help_ mommy, not make things more difficult!” Ezra points the wooden spoon at his daughter, his eyebrows raised and you shake your head with a smile, moving in to scoop up your daughter in your arms. She giggles as you nuzzle against her face, clinging to you. Ezra watches with a tender smile from the doorway, his two favorite girls in the entirety of the universe.

After peppering her face with kisses, you turn to smile at your husband, meandering back over to press a kiss to his cheek with your daughter perched on your hip. “I swear, lover, sometimes it’s like I live with two kids.” He grins, pressing a kiss back to your cheek before going to set the spoon down then hurrying down the hallway towards the bedroom. You watch with a confused look creasing your brow until he makes his way back to you with a vase in hand filled with gorgeous daisies and roses.

“I may be as youthful in spirit as our babe on your hip, but I try my best to do right by you as your husband. Congratulations on finishing, my Starlight. You have made me so proud.” Tears prick in your eyes at his words and you carefully set your daughter down to take the vase from him, smelling the flowers. The sweet scent of rose very nearly overwhelms you, and you set the vase down before wrapping your arms around the love of your life, burying your face in the crook of his neck. His arm winds around you as your daughter waddles back to the living room to play in her mess of toys. “I am left breathless at the greatness that you have achieved, my love. You have moved mountains and taken on the herculean task of school whilst carrying our Little Birdie. Every day you leave me mesmerized by your beauty and grace and intellect and I praise whatever force brought me to you. I couldn’t have imagined someone even remotely near as perfect as you, Starlight. The love and light of my life.”

You sniffle against his neck, pressing a gentle kiss against the skin before pulling back to smile at him. His hand comes up to wipe your tears, a gentle smile on his lips. “I couldn’t have done this without you, Ez. I hope you know that.”

“Nonsense, angel. You did this all on your own as it is. I just kept the house clean for you. All greatness you have achieved is because of yourself and your drive.” He winks, leaning in to steal a quick kiss from you just as the timer on the stove goes off. “Now, let’s get some food in the belly of yours before we settle in by the fire, alright? I think some relaxed family cuddle time is long overdue, don’t you?” You nod, wiping your cheeks as you turn to look back at your little one happily playing in her pile of toys. 

This life is sometimes a chaotic one, here in your mountains. Far more chaotic than you ever anticipated it becoming when you first made your home here. But truthfully you can say you’d have it no other way. Ezra by your side and your Little Birdie asleep in your arms as you curl up in front of the fire is your heaven, your home. You thank the mountains as you gaze out the window at the moonlit sky. After all, the mountains are what brought your Ezra to you. 


End file.
